According to a recent survey, we waste about two hours a day due to distractions. We waste the equivalent of 20 days, or four whole work weeks a year. What could you do with 20 more workdays? I probably would golf during five of those days. But only if my work productivity is maximized.
Ask yourself, “Self? Is what I am doing right now the best use of my time?” Of course, it is! You’re reading a very interesting article about increasing your workday productivity!
For me, the top five items keeping me from selling are e-mail, social media, firefighting, visitors, and administrative things. Example: Yesterday, I had a visitor. He said he got my name from a colleague who would never give out my name. He said we had an 11 o’clock appointment and arrived at 11:50. He said his company was the only one of its kind in North America including 19 states. I asked about the other 31 states he said his CEO was working on it. He would not listen to me about how I was in the middle of something and tried to shove his tablet in my face. I asked him for his business card and to follow up in three months. He didn’t leave his business card. His lies were almost convincing, but I handled this distraction with professionalism.
You are probably wondering about where those distracting two hours a day come from…
Building off the list from February, how many minutes this week during work hours did you spend:
- Gassing up your car? To get to the next appointment? You should have planned and filled it up last night.
- Checking out the new Costco mailer; or shopping for non-work supplies? It’s fun inside Costco but not getting you closer to hitting the July plan.
- Pool maintenance? It can wait.
- Watching Season 5 of Yellowstone? A non-selling activity.
- Mowing the grass? Hire the neighbor’s high school kid.
- Enjoying cocktails at lunch? How was that afternoon productivity?
- Reading People or Reader’s Digest magazines? Unless you’re on the toilet, put it down and reread this article.
- Thinking about calling a future customer? Stop thinking; pick up the phone.
Be organized. Plan your day. Be disciplined. Set your objectives, hustle, and give your professional best.
Call to action: name one thing you accomplished today. Write it down every day. At the end of the week, instead of saying, “I didn’t get anything done again this week,” your five-item list is the beginning of a trend to Maintain Discipline, Avoid Distractions, and Heat Up Your Sales!
Good Selling!
